Day 325 - 1 Year Surgery Anniversary!

Saturday, September 28, 2013 - Week 53

Happy 1 Year Surgery Anniversary to me!!!

It's been exactly 1 year since I've had ankle surgery! I still have my plate and 9 screws in my ankle! My ankle feels great today! No limping, no pinching, no discomfort, no tiredness, no soreness, no swelling, and most importantly no pain! No matter what, this feeling of something squeezing my ankle lightly will never go away. It is because of the hardware inside that is stretching out my skin.  Today I celebrate what I have gone through to get back to close to 100%, and feel like I am still progressing with healing.  

I will never forget the day I broke it and the wait to get surgery 4 days later. And the unknown feeling of getting back to my normal self. It was the most nerve wrecking feeling in my life! I am here now and feel as normal as I can ever feel. I am just glad I do not walk with a limp! The only unknown now is how I will feel 10 years, 20 years, 30 years from now. at my 8 months mark, my surgeon did ask me if the hardware bothers me enough to hinder my everyday activities, I do have the option to remove it. I decided at that moment, the hardware did not bother me enough to remove it. Today, I can say I don't even feel it on my ankle which is amazing to say =)

I remember how hard it was to even go grocery shopping, I felt bad for taking up isle space from people and it was a huge hassle to get in and out of anything like cars, shower, and handicap shopping carts with the use of crutches. I don't miss that at all!

Today, my right calf is still a bit atrophied and not quite equal size to my left calf. 

I continue to do my stationary biking exercises at home for my cardio workout. One day I will go back to running on the track and hope to not be so sore. So far so good! I still do my ABC ankle exercises and often massaging my ankle at the end of the day.  

Dit Da Jow is still my friend, I continue to use it almost everyday. The entire year, I have swelled up only twice! Once hiking in hawaii for 2 hours, and an entire day of walking vacationing in NYC from 9:30am - 3am! I am actually shocked I haven't swelled up from running or other activities. It's mostly from very long walks or being on my feet for too long over a period of days from traveling. 

I am excited to be able to wear heels once again! The only downfall is that I can only wear wedged heels, no more stilettos. I would be too nervous to wear those and it doesn't feel comfortable or stable enough to support my ankle. I am still very cautious even in wedge heels. Must be careful! I can't break my ankle a 3rd time now. It would sadden my grandparents and mom. They were afraid I would never walk normal again after this second major break. (First one was on the same ankle with a heel hairline fracture, and torn ligaments on the same area on top of my foot, and was in a walking boot.) Seeing me in a cast really freaked them out. 

Whew, what a year! Moving forward and looking forward to how I will feel months from now. Cheers to myself! 

Day 321 - 1 Year Ankleversary!

Tuesday, September 24, 2013 - Week 53

Happy 1 Year Ankleversary to me!!!

It's been exactly 1 year since I've broken my ankle! Time really flew by. I still can't believe, just thinking back how I was in a cast for close to 3 months and another 5 months of physical therapy.

I went from crutches, splint, cast, surgery, a plate with 9 screws, and now back on my feet! 

1 Year ago, a little too happy after the emergency room and some morphine haha. Shortly after I was inside Walgreens waiting for my pain meds and gagging into a to go throw up bag given to me from leaving the emergency room. 

1 Year later, my right ankle is of course bigger then the left because of the hardware inside. My scar is still somewhat the same. I consider myself still recovering. I am not completely 100% as expected. I would say I'm about a 97% today. I just got back from a mini weekend vacation to NYC and was able to walk from 9:30am - about 3am. However, I was sort of limping by the end of the night and was extremely tired. I do notice, if I do go hiking or running for close to an hour, I will go home a bit limpy and very sore. The sore will then last about 3 days. I should possibly shorten my runs to half an hour or even to 15 minutes. Gradually build back up and continue running at the track. I have been cycling on a stationary bike at home for the moment. I'm so excited! Can't believe still how fast time flew by and to remember what I went through at the beginning was tough. I've made it through and now I'm here happy and able to do my everyday normal things again. =) I'll see how I feel in another few months. I definitely feel improvement as the days move forward. I still continue my stretches and some of the physical therapy exercises most days. To a better year of recovering!

Day 305 - First time back to playing Softball "was how I broke my ankle..."

Sunday, September 8, 2013 - Week 50

I got a text this morning at 9:45 am to go play Softball at Gellert Park! It was my first time at this park and it was so nice! The weather was perfect too! I love this Indian Summer weather. We didn't play a game but just took turns hitting and catching. Softball was how I broke my ankle!!! I was excited and nervous at the same time. Excited because I missed hitting and catching, nervous about running on the uneven grass...

When I was hitting, I can feel a bit of pressure on the ankle when I turn to swing. I wasn't in pain but it was just a new feeling for me. Twisting the ankle to swing does feel a bit funny. I was so excited to use my gear again! It has been sitting in the closet since my injury. 

I definitely feel the sore coming on the ankle and in my arms. I will use my Dit Da Jow to get rid of the sore. September 24, 2013 will mark my one year since injury! I can't believe it's been almost a year. Time really flew. Being on the field reminded me I just graduated from Physical Therapy just in May! I'm getting back into sports slowly. Had a lot of fun today! Thanks for the invite friend. I'll be back to play again!

Day 284 - Scar is itchy when in the sun

Sunday, August 18, 2013 - Week 47

I went to a baby shower at Beresford Park, San Mateo. It was such a nice day, clean park with a lot of playgrounds for the kids and even a skateboard park! I got some tanning action and wanted to get a little bit more color.

My scar is itchy when I'm in the sun for too long! Mostly at the very bottom edge was the only itchy part. I guess my skin is thin and sensitive still. I did put sunblock on. I wonder if my scar will fade even more overtime?